ROP ERDF

-  Thematic objectives
-  The thematic concentration
-  The process of partnership consultation
 
Thematic objectives
Regulation (EU) n. 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and that of the Council of 17th December 2013 containing common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, on the European Social Fund, on the Cohesion fund, on the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, repealing Regulation (EC) n. 1083/2006 of the Council, has identified the 11 thematic objectives of the new programming in art. 9:  
 

1. strengthening the research, the technological development and innovation; 
2. improving the access to information and communication technologies (ICT), as well as their use and quality; 
3. promoting the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises, of the agricultural sector (for the EAFRD) and of the fisheries and aquaculture sector (for the EMFF); 
4. supporting the transition towards a low-carbon economy in all sectors; 
5. promoting climate change adaptation, risk prevention and management; 
6. preserving and protecting the environment and promoting the efficient use of resources;  
7. promoting sustainable transport system and eliminating bottlenecks in the main network infrastructures; 
8. promoting a sustainable and quality employment and supporting the mobility of workers; 
9. promoting social inclusion and fight poverty and all kinds of discrimination; 
10. investing in education, training and vocational training for the competences and lifelong learning; 
11. strengthening the institutional capacity of public authorities and interested parties and an efficient public administration.

 
The thematic concentration

The new Proposal of the mentioned Regulation on common provisions provides in its art. 18 a thematic concentration on the actions bringing the biggest added value relating to the Union’s strategy for a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.
 
In order to achieve a thematic concentration, art. 4 of Regulation (EU) n. 1301/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17th December 2013, concerning the European Regional Development Fund and special provisions on the objective “Investments for growth and jobs”, and repealing Regulation (EU) n. 1080/2006, shows that in the most developed Regions (including Friuli Venezia Giulia region): 
 
- at least 80% of overall resources of ERDF at a National level shall be allocated to two or more thematic objectives indicated in article 9, first subparagraph, points 1, 2, 3 and 4, of regulation (EU) n. 1303/2013; [...] 

The process of consultation

Article 5 of Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council containing common provisions on Structural Funds, among which the European Regional Development Fund, n. 1303/2013 repealing regulation n. 1083/2006 provides that: 

1. Every member States organizes, for the partnership agreement and for each programme, in accordance with its own institutional and legal framework, a partnership with the competent regional and local authorities. The partnership equally includes the following partners: 

1. the city authorities and the other competent public authorities; 
2. the economic and social parties; and 
3. the relevant bodies representing the civil society, including environmental partners, non-governmental organizations and bodies promoting social inclusion, gender equality and non-discrimination. 

(To be added to the above listed subjects, the representatives of Universities and Research Institutes, the Chambers of Commerce and Business organizations. Forecast by the European code of conduct on partnership). 

2. In accordance with the governance system at multiple levels, the Member States involve the partners referred to at paragraph 1 in the preparatory activities for the partnership agreements and for the reports on the state of implementation and in all activities for the preparation and implementation of the programmes, also through participation in the monitoring committees of the programmes in accordance with article 48.

In line with the provisions of article 5 above mentioned, the European code of conduct on partnership adopted by the Commission on 7th January 2014 underlines that the active participation of all interested parties since the very first programming stages is essential for the success of the funds implementation, especially for what concerns the preparation of the partnership agreement at a National level and the preparation of programmes at a national and/or regional level.

Under these conditions, the Managing Authority of the ROP ERDF Friuli Venezia Giulia concerning the 2014-2020 Programming has involved the partnership, composed by institutional, economic, social and environmental representatives, in the programming, implementation and management stages of the Programme, particularly in the following activities: 

• analysis and needs assessment; 
• identified objectives;
• for each thematic objective, identification of investment priorities, of the main objects, the expected results and the actions needed for their achievement; 
• scope of financial needs and allocation resources for each thematic objective; 
• identification of indicators; 
• approaches for the implementation of the horizontal principles, among which equal opportunities and sustainable urban development. 

The partnership activation, in accordance with the principle of governance at multiple levels, guarantees the involvement of the parties involved in programming the actions, thus catching the added value determined by the experience and competences of such subjects.
 

The results of partnership consultation, held both through online consultation  and partnership tables on the territory, have represented the basis for the programming of the new Regional Operational Programme. The Regional Council provided for identifying, by its own act, the framework of the ERDF 2014/2020 programming (n.131 of 24 January 2014).
These official guidelines have taken in due consideration the outcome of the consultation, as well as the existing concentration constraints, established by the Community legislator, in order to achieve the development objectives, able to guarantee a return in terms of investments and growth for the territory.